Latest / Pop of Culture / S03 E03 - We Wreck Your Heart

Transcript

S03 E03 - We Wreck Your Heart · Pop of Culture

0:00
[Sean Ashcraft] Support for Pop of Culture comes
0:01
from Stallings Wealth Management,
0:02
Daniel Stallings, financial advisor.
0:04
Securities and Advisory Services offered
0:06
through Cetera Advisors LLC, member of FINRA/SIPC,
0:09
a broker/dealer and registered investment advisor.
0:12
Cetera is under separate ownership
0:13
from any other named entity.
0:14
(upbeat music)
0:16
[Michelle] This week on Pop, the story behind the song.
0:20
We have original music from local artist Katie Jo Robinson,
0:24
recorded live for Pop of Culture.
0:26
[Jen] And, a story with songs.
0:29
[Michelle] Ooh.
0:29
[Jen] Author Lori Rader-Day set her latest novel
0:32
in the country music scene of Chicago.
0:35
{Lori Rader Day] Two years before the Grand Ole Opry
0:38
existed, we had the Barn Dance.
0:40
[Michelle} Plus, this week's Beautiful Thing.
0:43
[Jeannine Pitas] First I wept, then I applauded and laughed.
0:47
[Michelle] That's all coming up.
0:50
[Luke] Support for Pop of Culture comes
0:51
from Stallings Wealth Management,
0:55
the Innovation Connector,
0:58
and from you.
1:00
With state and federal money eliminated,
1:03
you are the difference
1:04
in keeping local programming on the air at IPR.
1:08
Become a member today at indianapublicradio.org.
1:13
[Michelle] From IPR, this is Pop of Culture. I'm Michelle Kinsey.
1:18
[Jen] And I'm Jen Blackmer.
1:19
One of the great things about this hosting gig
1:22
for this amazing show
1:23
that we do here at Indiana Public Radio
1:25
is that we get to meet artists and writers
1:29
from East Central Indiana,
1:31
who have East Central Indiana connections,
1:32
and are also from all over,
1:34
and then we get to follow their work.
1:38
And you might remember, longtime Pop of Culture listeners,
1:42
when we had a conversation with Lori Rader-Day,
1:46
writer Lori Rader-Day.
1:47
And Lori has a new book, called "Wreck Your Heart."
1:52
And we invited Lori back to the show to chat about this book
1:56
and give us some information
1:57
about this amazing set of characters that Lori's created.
2:00
Hi Lori, welcome back to Pop of Culture.
2:03
[Lori Rader Day] Thanks so much for having me, Jennifer.
2:05
[Jen] Well, I was lucky enough to get a copy of the book,
2:08
and as we were saying before we went on the air,
2:11
I read it over my holiday break,
2:15
and it was kind of perfect for that, because this book,
2:20
it is about family and friendship and music and art,
2:24
and it's joyful,
2:26
but it's also a murder mystery
2:28
because you write crime fiction, yeah?
2:31
[Lori Rader Day] Yeah, it's a real bummer sometimes.
2:33
[Jen] I know, yeah.
2:33
(all chuckle)
2:35
[Jen] So let's start out with,
2:37
what inspired you to write this book?
2:41
[Lori Rader Day] Yeah, so in 2019, 2020,
2:45
I was the national president of a group
2:47
called Sisters in Crime,
2:49
which is a crime fiction association
2:51
for writers and librarians and readers.
2:54
And you know, if you remember, 2020 was not a good time
2:58
to be in charge of anything-
3:00
[Jen] Really it wasn't.
3:01
[Lori Rader Day] My job was to get the name out,
3:03
to get, you know, possible new members to notice us.
3:08
And so I talked my board into doing a big writing challenge,
3:12
a month-long writing challenge,
3:13
where you write 50,000 words as quickly as possible.
3:17
The problem was, well, it's twofold,
3:20
I had never done this kind of writing challenge before,
3:23
and then I was in between project, you know,
3:27
so I didn't really have a book going,
3:29
and I didn't really have my next book figured out.
3:32
So, the night before the challenge started,
3:34
I wrote down a list of things that were giving me joy.
3:38
And this was fall of 2020,
3:40
so there wasn't a lot of joy to be had, if you recall.
3:43
[Jen] Right, oh, I recall, yeah.
3:45
[Lori Rader Day] But I had been listening to a certain kind
3:47
of music that I suddenly discovered I was very into, country
3:51
music, something that I had grown up with,
3:52
but sort of fallen away from, and I found my way back to.
3:58
I missed being out in my city,
3:59
I missed Chicago, where I live now,
4:02
I've been here for about 25 years.
4:03
I missed going to, you know, a pub, a tavern with my friends
4:07
and just having a beer.
4:09
I had just gotten my new puppy,
4:10
she was ruling my life with an iron paw,
4:13
(Michelle and Jen chuckle)
4:14
but I loved her so much.
4:15
And so dogs, you know,
4:18
it's hard to put dogs into a mystery novel.
4:21
[Jen] Oh, but you do it so well.
4:23
It's like I knew these dogs, right? (chuckles)
4:26
[Lori Rader Day] They're characters, right?
4:27
[Jen] They are, it's wonderful.
4:29
[Lori Rader Day] But if you put an animal into a mystery
4:32
novel, then the readers have to worry about them.
4:33
I wanted to title the book "The Dogs Are Going to Be Okay"
4:36
by Lori Rader-Day.
4:37
[Jen] Amazing.
4:38
(Jen and Lori chuckle)
4:39
[Lori Rader Day] I wrote this list of, you know,
4:41
things that I thought I could spend some time with,
4:43
and the next morning I started writing furiously this story,
4:48
just to get as many words on the page as possible,
4:51
without any expectation that it would be a book,
4:54
without any expectation that anyone ever would read it,
4:58
without any parameters at all.
5:01
So, you know,
5:02
"An up-and-coming country and Midwestern singer in Chicago
5:06
is walking some dogs, and she lives over a tavern."
5:10
And then I put it away,
5:11
and wrote what would be my next book,
5:12
which was "The Death of Us," it was out in 2023.
5:15
But that was a dark, dark book,
5:17
and then I was going through some dark, dark times.
5:21
But at the end of it, I thought,
5:23
I just want to write something that has some joy in it,
5:27
something that is fun for me, and then also fun for readers.
5:32
So I dug out those words that I had come up with
5:34
during my writing challenge, and it made me laugh,
5:38
so I started writing "Wreck Your Heart."
5:41
[Jen] Yeah.
5:42
And I love hearing this origin story for this,
5:45
because that feeling is infused throughout the piece,
5:49
it really is.
5:50
And I think, you know,
5:52
among so many things in particular, you know,
5:55
you don't think about Chicago as a country music hub, right?
5:59
But there are, there are places all throughout the city
6:02
that you can go listen to country music.
6:03
So that being an unusual and very specific location,
6:07
in and of itself, was very compelling.
6:11
And then throughout the piece,
6:12
you create these wonderful relationships,
6:14
these very interesting and intricate family relationships.
6:20
[Lori Rader Day] Yeah, well, I wanna speak
6:22
for Chicago's country music scene,
6:25
there is a scene, a current scene,
6:27
little patches all over the city and the suburbs
6:30
where you can see country music
6:31
almost any night of the week.
6:33
But also historically, Chicago,
6:35
I think we have a pretty good dibs,
6:38
to use a Chicago term, "dibs,"
6:40
on, you know, a country music hub,
6:43
because two years before the Grand Ole Opry existed,
6:46
we had the Barn Dance,
6:49
which was a live music show
6:51
that was broadcast out to all of America.
6:54
So the origin of that Grand Ole Opry sort of piece,
7:00
it started in Chicago.
7:02
So, we'll take a little slice of that.
7:04
[Jen] Yes, Chicago totally should.
7:06
And that's such an interesting piece of history,
7:08
I didn't know that.
7:11
[Lori Rader Day] And then the relationships are complex.
7:14
Dahlia Devine, she's a complex character,
7:17
she's had a rough and tumble kind of life,
7:19
the kind of life you might write a country music song about.
7:23
She has not had a home really,
7:27
she's had a very itinerant life,
7:30
in that she was sort of whisked out of her mother's care
7:34
because she needed to be, at age six,
7:37
and then she was in the foster system.
7:40
She had one beacon of home,
7:42
and that was her guardian, a term that she uses,
7:46
I'm not sure that it was ever legally,
7:48
you know, established, and that was Alex.
7:51
So when the book opens, Dahlia is back with Alex.
7:54
Now, she's not happy to be back with Alex,
7:56
because that to her means failure,
7:59
failure to launch, right?
8:01
But she can rely on Alex,
8:03
and that relationship became a really big piece
8:06
of the novel.
8:07
[Jen] Yeah, yeah.
8:08
And what's interesting is,
8:10
she's sort of an unwitting potential mystery solver, right?
8:16
But then these things happen,
8:17
and she gets involved in a lot of complications,
8:21
and they just seem to, you know,
8:23
the knots just get tighter and tighter and tighter.
8:25
But as the story progresses, right,
8:30
she also learns that she has family, right?
8:34
And for the longest time she's been by herself,
8:37
but then getting involved
8:38
in some of these very difficult moments and events, right,
8:42
reveals to her some things that she didn't know.
8:45
[Lori Rader Day] Yeah, I don't think it's a spoiler,
8:46
because it's on the back cover, right?
8:48
That her mother, who she hasn't seen in a very long time,
8:52
returns, and then immediately disappears again,
8:54
but really disappears.
8:57
And then the next morning, Dahlia discovers a young woman
9:01
at the front door of the tavern, banging on the door
9:04
because she can't find her mother,
9:07
and so she has a half sibling
9:08
that she did not know she had.
9:10
[Jen] Right, yeah.
9:11
And that relationship grows and strengthens
9:12
throughout the adventures that follow.
9:15
[Lori Rader Day] You know, all these relationships end up
9:16
being tied more closely together than maybe it first seems.
9:22
[Jen] Right.
9:23
And the tavern itself is a character as well.
9:25
I think you've done a really interesting thing
9:30
with the setting,
9:31
in that there's the tavern,
9:34
and then there's living space
9:36
that is connected to the tavern, but then there's this also,
9:40
and again, not a spoiler, sort of liminal space
9:42
between these two areas, right?
9:45
And that's such an unusual thing,
9:48
it's a feature of city buildings certainly,
9:52
but it plays some really crucial parts to your story.
9:56
[Lori Rader Day] I described the two parts of the building
10:00
as sort of, I think it's the two chambers of a heart.
10:05
And they're connected,
10:07
but they're connected in specific ways.
10:10
And one half has been empty for a long time,
10:12
the other half is the tavern,
10:14
and then there are apartments above.
10:16
When I lived in Muncie,
10:17
I lived over a business in an apartment.
10:20
Now, the apartments were not connected
10:22
except through a catwalk porch on the back,
10:25
but, you know- [Jen] Sure, yeah.
10:27
[Lori Rader Day] But city buildings are always interesting,
10:29
right? They've always been redone,
10:31
and sometimes you find secrets in them.
10:33
[Jen] Totally, and there's these layers of history
10:36
that you sort of piece through
10:39
to unearth some of those secrets.
10:40
And that certainly happens in the book,
10:42
which is really incredible.
10:44
Music also plays, of course, I mean, she's a singer,
10:46
music also plays a very large part in the story,
10:50
and she sings a lot of Patsy Klein,
10:55
and she is struggling with writing her own songs,
11:00
right?
11:01
It's something that she had been encouraged to do
11:04
by a potential manager,
11:05
and is broaching the subject with her band mates.
11:09
And that is such an interesting,
11:11
a lovely exploration really, of the artistic process,
11:15
and the stuff we do to get in our own way.
11:18
[Lori Rader Day] And I think as artists, we all start
11:21
by imitating the artists we love, you know?
11:25
Who among us has not tried to write,
11:27
you know, a Hemingway story,
11:28
or a Tolkien, you know, whatever it is, whoever it is.
11:32
[Jen] Of course, yeah.
11:34
[Lori Rader Day] But the real journey is in finding your own
11:38
voice, and singing it, you know, as well as you can,
11:41
and developing it over time.
11:43
So she's sort of been writing songs in secret,
11:46
sort of, you know, tucking them away, and she's always-
11:48
[Jen] And is then stashing them in her boot. (chuckles)
11:51
[Lori Rader Day] Yes.
11:52
And she hears lines sometimes,
11:53
and she thinks, "Yeah, that's a good line,
11:55
I could use that."
11:56
But she's not doing the work, she's not sharing her work,
12:01
she's not being open with it, even her band mates,
12:05
because it's something that she cares so much about,
12:08
what if she's bad at it?
12:10
What if it doesn't work out?
12:12
You know, what if these are terrible songs
12:13
that I'm attempting?
12:14
And of course they are, you know,
12:15
the first time you write anything,
12:18
the first time you create anything,
12:18
it's gonna be that bad pancake, right?
12:20
[Jen] Oh, yeah, totally. (laughs)
12:22
(Lori chuckles)
12:23
[Jen] It's always that first draft.
12:25
[Lori Rader Day] As I wrote this book,
12:26
a lot of my own feelings about creativity sneaked in,
12:29
I didn't know that I was writing a book about writing.
12:32
But it turns out, you know, she's a songwriter,
12:34
and so I could use some of my own experiences as a creator,
12:39
and as somebody in an industry
12:41
that uses creative work to make a product,
12:45
I could sneak in some of my own thoughts
12:47
and feelings about that.
12:49
[Jen] Well, and you do it so well.
12:51
You just really get to know these people very, very quickly,
12:55
and you get to care about them very, very quickly,
12:58
so as these events unfold,
13:02
and you know, Dahl gets, gets caught up in them,
13:07
you really do invest, I think,
13:11
not only in what happens to her,
13:12
but also in these people around her.
13:15
And, you know, you don't know who is what,
13:18
and you know, who's pulling the strings,
13:20
and when you do find things out,
13:23
then like any good piece of crime fiction,
13:26
you're connecting the dots, right?
13:28
It's like, "Oh, that's right. Yes, I saw that,"
13:31
you know, several chapters back.
13:32
So it's also a fun read in that way.
13:36
[Lori Rader Day] Yeah, I think one of the goals of a mystery
13:38
novel, traditional mystery novel anyway,
13:39
is that when you come to the solution,
13:42
which everyone is reading for, of course-
13:43
[Jen] Absolutely, yeah. (chuckles)
13:47
[Lori Rader Day] All the clues and pieces of information
13:49
that you've been fed all along all through the entire book,
13:52
should sort of light up like a set of string lights
13:56
all the way back to, "Oh, yeah, now I get,"
14:00
you know, I've been told this story,
14:02
and now I actually get all the pieces.
14:04
[Jen] Yeah, yeah.
14:05
Well, it's such a lovely read.
14:09
And what are the specifics about when it comes out?
14:13
Because I know I have an advance copy,
14:15
but is it out yet?
14:16
When does it come out?
14:18
[Lori Rader Day] It came out January 6th,
14:19
it's available in hardcover, ebook and audio.
14:22
I've heard great things about the audiobook,
14:24
we chose someone from Chicago
14:26
to make sure that she could say Dahlia,
14:29
you know, just the way she needed to, occasionally.
14:32
[Jen] Yeah, that is a definite accent
14:35
(spry soulful country music)
14:35
that puts you right in the middle of it,
14:38
I love that, that's great. (Lori chuckles)
14:40
[Jen] Lori, thank you so much for joining us on Pop of Culture
14:42
to discuss your writing,
14:44
and this book in particular, I thoroughly enjoyed it,
14:48
and it's lovely reconnecting with you.
14:51
[Lori Rader Day] It's great talking to you.
14:53
(spry soulful country music continues)
15:11
[Jen] There are a few reasons you might find yourself
15:13
in a delivery room when you are not the one on the bed.
15:16
That's what happened in this week's Beautiful Thing.
15:19
We're here with author Jeannine Pitas.
15:22
Hello, Jeannine.
15:24
[Jeannine Pitas] Hi.
15:25
[Jen] Hi, thank you so much for taking some time
15:27
to share your Beautiful Thing with us.
15:30
Jeannine's essay is called "In the Delivery Room."
15:36
[Jeannine Pitas] "In the Delivery Room."
15:38
"It's not a place I ever thought I'd see
15:42
A committed un-mother I am,
15:44
my body never to be a factory of human beings.
15:48
But today, someone needs me,
15:50
and I have come to clasp her hands and feet,
15:54
to shout encouragement in her native tongue,
15:57
which the nurse and obstetrician do not know.
16:00
(Jeannine speaks in Spanish)
16:03
A person the size I once was.
16:06
A person not here minutes ago.
16:10
The room is huge.
16:11
Leaves know to grow each April, to fall in October,
16:16
one body emerges from another.
16:19
The doctor lets me cut the cord,
16:21
then places him in her arms.
16:23
I take a picture.
16:25
"It seems he didn't approve of being born,"
16:28
a friend says later, eyeing his frowning face.
16:31
"Maybe he hates the hospital air conditioning
16:34
as much as I do."
16:36
He doesn't know he's a US citizen.
16:38
His mother is undocumented, his father isn't here.
16:43
He didn't ask to be born in this town
16:45
where it hasn't rained in five weeks,
16:48
where the May grass is brown.
16:51
He didn't ask to be born among masked faces,
16:55
among germs of our own making.
16:58
But here he is, and he grips my finger,
17:01
clinging to someone who feels like a tree.
17:04
His name is Domingo.
17:07
Later, I'm asked if this experience makes me want a child.
17:12
I reply with my truth,
17:14
"It makes me want a better world for all children."
17:20
[Jen] Thank you so much, Jeannine,
17:23
that is so powerful.
17:25
Especially that last line. (chuckles)
17:28
That last line just kind of knocked me over
17:31
when I first read your essay,
17:33
how it's so apparent
17:36
that this one birth is also an indication
17:40
of all of these, you know, babies
17:42
that come into the world not knowing anything.
17:45
Yeah, in the middle of the piece, you talk about,
17:47
you know, he didn't ask to be born in this town,
17:50
he didn't ask for these things.
17:53
And it's very potent
17:55
when you think about the situation of this particular birth,
18:00
right?
18:02
So tell us a little bit
18:03
about what your inspiration was for this.
18:07
[Jeannine Pitas] I wrote this while living in Dubuque, Iowa,
18:11
where I lived for seven years, I live in Pittsburgh now.
18:14
But while living in Dubuque,
18:18
I got involved with the immigrant rights movement.
18:22
And it really started,
18:23
because I am a non-native Spanish speaker,
18:27
I've learned Spanish to fluency, or near fluency.
18:32
And there was a need for language interpretation,
18:38
this was about 2017, 2018,
18:40
because many young people had come to the town
18:44
as unaccompanied minors,
18:46
many were seeking legal status,
18:50
and there are not a lot of fully bilingual people around
18:55
that can serve as interpreters.
18:57
And this was a moment during Trump's first term
19:00
that I really was thinking, "What can I do?
19:02
What can I do about the way my country is going,
19:07
these realities that I see,
19:09
this discrimination against immigrants, that I don't like?"
19:12
And here was something really concrete right in front of me
19:16
that I was able to do,
19:18
you know, drive people to appointments, accompany them,
19:21
interpret for them at legal and medical appointments.
19:25
And it just so happened that during the pandemic,
19:29
around 2021, a lot of the young people who had settled
19:34
and gotten older were having children.
19:37
And there was a need to accompany women
19:42
to maternal health appointments,
19:44
and I ended up having the opportunity
19:48
to accompany some childbirths.
19:51
So that was the second birth I accompanied,
19:55
and it was a young woman whom I had known for many years,
19:59
and I was really excited to be with her.
20:03
But like, when the baby came out,
20:06
I don't know what I was expecting to see,
20:08
like, was I expecting a dog?
20:09
(Jen laughs)
20:10
Was I expecting a cat? Was I expecting a goldfish?
20:12
Like, I don't know what I was expecting to see,
20:14
but I'm like, oh my goodness, it's a person,
20:16
it's a person who wasn't here a few minutes ago.
20:19
And my first reaction, I actually wept,
20:23
first I wept, then I applauded and laughed.
20:26
And in the births I've accompanied since,
20:29
I haven't cried since, but I just laugh and clap,
20:33
and it's so exciting.
20:35
But this was the first child
20:36
that I actually saw come into the world, and I just wept,
20:40
it's so huge- [Jen] It is overwhelming.
20:41
[Jeannine Pitas] It's so cosmic.
20:42
[Jen] Yeah, it's overwhelming,
20:43
and when you're on the other end of that,
20:45
and you are the person giving birth,
20:46
(chuckles) there's nothing like,
20:49
you know, getting to the end of that process.
20:51
And it is overwhelming for so many reasons.
20:54
I mean, there's just so much,
20:55
all of the emotions are just present there in that space.
20:59
[Jeannine Pitas] It's a sacred moment to accompany a birth.
21:03
And again, I do not have children,
21:06
I never wanted to have children,
21:09
so I never thought
21:10
that I would be this close to birthing and babies.
21:14
And I am a person of faith,
21:17
but even if you're not,
21:18
I would say like there's something about that moment
21:21
where you just feel yourself
21:24
as part of something bigger than just you
21:28
and just our everyday reality,
21:32
even though births happen every day, obviously,
21:33
but there's something very sacred about it.
21:36
Same thing accompanying people at the end of life,
21:38
I've had that opportunity as well.
21:40
I've never been with someone at the moment of death,
21:43
but I have in the immediate days before,
21:46
and those moments really bring us into communion
21:51
with all of humanity,
21:52
and just beyond all of our petty squabbles
21:55
and the problems that we're facing.
21:58
We really see just what is common to all,
22:01
birth and death and life,
22:02
and just this reality that we all share
22:05
and that we're all in together.
22:07
[Jen] And struggle and wanting the best for ourselves
22:10
and our loved ones, certainly.
22:12
And again,
22:14
I think that the humanity that you manage to capture
22:18
so beautifully in the piece,
22:20
when you set that against the world,
22:25
you know, that's petty, and it's thriving on conflict,
22:28
and it's about, you know,
22:30
trying to craft a message or an idea or something.
22:35
And yet in the middle of this,
22:37
there are so many humans, human beings
22:41
with their own struggles, their joys, their desires,
22:45
everything that they want out of life.
22:48
[Jeannine Pitas] Yes. [Jen] Yeah.
22:49
And your piece just does that so well, Jeannine,
22:52
it's just this beautiful, sort of tug of war, I guess,
22:56
in the best way, between these two points of view.
23:00
[Jeannine Pitas] Thank you.
23:01
I mean, it's really what I want to get across, I think,
23:05
is that as we talk about all these issues
23:08
and deal with this conflict, it comes down to human beings,
23:12
and other living beings, not only humans,
23:14
I mean, it comes down to the future of all life on earth.
23:17
But at the most relatable level,
23:20
on all sides of the political divide
23:23
that we are experiencing in the US right now,
23:27
are the lives of human beings, and I just wish
23:30
that everybody could remember that more often.
23:34
[Jen] It makes me want a better world for all children,
23:37
as you say at the end.
23:39
Jeannine M. Pitas is a Pittsburgh-based writer, teacher,
23:44
Spanish-English translator and editor.
23:46
(chill music)
23:47
She's also a volunteer
23:48
for the refugees resettlement agency Hello Neighbor.
23:52
Jeannine, thank you so much for your time today.
23:55
[Jeannine] Thank you for having me, this was wonderful.
23:59
[Jen] This story comes from IPR's collaboration
24:02
with River Teeth's Beautiful things,
24:05
a weekly magazine of micro essays.
24:07
More at riverteethjournal.com.
24:24
[Michelle Kinsey] I'm Michelle Kinsey.
24:25
[Jen Blackmer] And I'm Jen Blackmer.
24:27
You're listening to Pop of Culture.
24:29
[Michelle Kinsey] And we have something new for your ears.
24:32
Every month in Muncie, there is First Thursday,
24:36
a gathering of arts and culture events in downtown.
24:39
[Jen Blackmer] One of those monthly events is the Songwriter
24:42
Sessions. This is a singer-songwriter showcase
24:44
built as an intentional listening opportunity.
24:48
It lets songwriters share the meaning behind their words,
24:51
and it exposes listeners to local talent.
24:54
[Michelle] We're bringing you part of one of those sessions
24:56
in our new segment Story Behind the Song,
24:59
recorded live exclusively for IPR.
25:03
For our first story and song,
25:05
here's multi-genre musician Katie Jo Robinson.
25:09
[Katie Jo Robinson] Much love, many blessings to all y'all,
25:12
my name's Katie Jo Robinson.
25:13
Thank you again, Songwriter Sessions and The Fierce
25:17
and 7 Rock for having me out.
25:20
This next one, I'm gonna take a minute,
25:25
give y'all some context behind the music.
25:29
For those of y'all that don't know,
25:31
my name's Katie Jo Robinson,
25:33
I'm a musician from Daleville, Indiana,
25:36
I've been doing this for about 15 years.
25:40
And when I'm not doing this,
25:43
I'm teaching other people how to do this. (chuckles)
25:47
And that's my heart and soul, it's in the music,
25:50
and sharing that with other people,
25:52
and that's part of who I am, and that's part of my purpose.
25:55
Something special to me is my ability to create as an artist
26:00
and put a message out in the world.
26:03
And right now, more than ever,
26:05
I one hundred percent feel
26:06
like we as like human beings are more united,
26:10
we got more in common
26:11
than the world would lead you to believe right now.
26:15
And this song really speaks to that,
26:16
and it's like a message on my heart
26:17
that I gotta get this out into the world.
26:20
And contrary to what folks might think,
26:23
I'm a pretty big person
26:25
when it comes to like faith and family,
26:26
and this song is called "Love Your Neighbor,
26:29
Be Your Friend."
26:34
(chill guitar plays)
26:57
(funky groove music)
26:58
♪ Here, baby, nowhere ♪
27:02
♪ He went out ♪
27:04
♪ Feeling down, I got the T-shirt ♪
27:08
♪ I do recall how sweet it is to feel the sunshine ♪
27:12
♪ On my skin ♪
27:13
♪ Step aside into the light ♪
27:14
♪ Begin again ♪
27:16
♪ Could you think of me as less, you know, the enemy ♪
27:19
♪ When all I mean to do is be here ♪
27:23
♪ Feeling down ♪
27:27
♪ I just wanted to be your friend ♪
27:33
♪ Just wanna be your friend ♪
27:39
♪ I just wanted to be your friend ♪
27:47
♪ Kindness is your mindset, it's something you won't read ♪
27:50
♪ Yeah, when you look into the eyes of a human being ♪
27:54
♪ I can't believe how many folks are out there acting rough ♪
27:56
♪ And acting tough ♪
27:57
♪ And honestly just straight up being mean ♪
28:00
♪ I just don't know how far we can go in this direction ♪
28:06
♪ I just don't know how far we can go in this direction ♪
28:11
♪ I just wanna be your friend ♪
28:16
♪ I just wanted to be your friend ♪
28:23
♪ Just wanna be your friend ♪
28:29
♪ I just wanted to be your friend ♪
28:38
(funky groove music turns slow and mellow)
29:04
(slow mellow music continues)
29:15
(slow mellow music gradually increases rhythm)
29:40
♪ I just don't know how far we can go in this direction ♪
29:52
♪ I just don't know how far we can go in this direction ♪
30:05
♪ How can I tell all my people there is ♪
30:10
♪ A protection ♪
30:17
♪ I just don't know how far we can go in this direction ♪
30:31
(mellow music subsides and resumes upbeat)
30:33
♪ Kindness is your mindset, it's something you won't read ♪
30:36
♪ Yeah, when you look into the eyes of a human being ♪
30:40
♪ Now could you think of me, my family, my community ♪
30:42
♪ As less, you know, the enemy ♪
30:44
♪ When blood is red and water is blue and grass is green ♪
30:51
♪ Just wanna be your ♪
30:58
♪ Wanna be your friend ♪
31:03
♪ I just wanted to be your friend ♪
31:10
♪ Just wanna be your friend ♪
31:15
♪ I just wanted to be your friend ♪
31:21
(upbeat music continues)
31:47
(upbeat music continues)
31:59
♪ Just wanna be your friend ♪
32:05
♪ I just wanted to be your friend ♪
32:12
♪ Just wanna be your baby, your teacher ♪
32:16
♪ Your sister ♪
32:18
♪ Brother, I just wanna be your ♪
32:24
♪ Just wanna be your friend ♪
32:40
(upbeat music continues)
33:13
(upbeat music subsides)
33:15
[Michelle Kinsey] As a treat for listening to our podcast,
33:17
we've got another song from Katie Joe Robinson.
33:21
Here they are, with "What For?"
33:23
(bass plays erratically)
33:24
[Katie Jo Robinson] Sometimes that's a question you've gotta
33:32
ask, "What for?" (groovy upbeat music)
33:57
(groovy upbeat music continues)
34:21
♪ Tell me that you love me that you're leaving ♪
34:27
♪ I don't even know what to believe anymore ♪
34:32
♪ Tell me you love me sweet that I'm feeling ♪
34:38
♪ But I don't know what for ♪
34:44
♪ All this talking I've been tenderly sweet at home ♪
34:50
♪ Talking to her, I can't think clearly anymore ♪
34:55
♪ All this (indistinct) I ain't gonna stick around ♪
35:01
♪ But I don't know what for ♪
35:05
♪ It ain't easy ♪
35:08
♪ I ain't gonna lie ♪
35:11
♪ I think about it, baby ♪
35:13
♪ All the time ♪
35:16
♪ Yeah, the days go by, I move about the people ♪
35:21
♪ And I don't know why, so tell me ♪
35:25
♪ Why can't we just speak ♪
35:30
(groovy upbeat music continues)
35:42
♪ Better to myself, you broke a heavy heart ♪
35:48
♪ Now I'm just a thought that you can choose to ignore ♪
35:53
♪ Still I'm blessed to hold onto everything you broke ♪
35:59
♪ But I don't know what for ♪
36:03
♪ It ain't easy ♪
36:06
♪ I ain't gonna lie ♪
36:08
♪ I think about it forever ♪
36:11
♪ All the time ♪
36:14
♪ Yeah, the days go by and move about the people ♪
36:19
♪ And I don't know why, so tell me ♪
36:22
♪ Why can't we just speak ♪
36:27
(music turns slow and meditative)
36:50
♪ Why can't we ♪
36:55
♪ Why can't we ♪
37:00
(meditative music regains rhythm)
37:01
♪ Why can't we ♪
37:07
♪ Why can't we ♪
37:14
♪ Speak ♪
37:25
♪ It ain't easy ♪
37:30
♪ I ain't gonna lie ♪
37:36
♪ And think about it, baby ♪
37:42
♪ All the time ♪
37:45
♪ Yeah, yeah, yeah ♪
37:48
♪ The days go by, and I move about the people ♪
37:52
♪ And I don't know why, so tell me ♪
37:56
♪ Why can't we ♪
37:59
♪ Just ♪
38:01
(guitar stops)
38:01
♪ Why can't we just ♪
38:04
(upbeat guitar resumes)
38:05
♪ Speak ♪
38:09
♪ Oh yeah ♪
38:17
(upbeat music subsides) (attendee clamoring)
38:19
[Michelle Kinsey] That was What For? from Katie Jo Robinson.
38:22
(attendees cheer)
38:23
[Michelle] Story Behind the Song comes from the Songwriter
38:26
Sessions, created by The Fierce and produced by Josh
38:30
Eisenhart. Full disclosure, I'm a member of The Fierce,
38:33
and the host of the sessions.
38:34
You're listening to Pop of Culture from IPR.
38:37
[Jen] It's the part of the show where we ask an artist,
38:40
"What Are You Working On?"
38:42
Our co-host Maya Doss spoke with a sculptor working in wood.
38:47
[Maya] Today on the show I have Chet Geiselman,
38:49
an artist, woodworker and educator at Ball State.
38:52
Chet, share with us, what are you working on?
38:54
[Chet Geiselman] I'm always working on my artwork.
38:58
I am the 3D studio manager here, so I am professional staff,
39:03
and when everybody else gets to go home for break,
39:06
I stay here and clean and repair tools.
39:09
And so, I'm in the wood shop right now repairing some tools.
39:13
[Maya Doss] That's great.
39:15
Artistically, I'm curious,
39:16
because I know you have a show coming up in March
39:18
at the StorageSpace in Indy.
39:20
What inspired this body of work you've been making?
39:24
[Chet Geiselman] I've been working on this body of work
39:26
for 12 years now-
39:28
[Chet Geiselman] On these relief sculptures,
39:28
or "bas relief" sculptures, I call 'em.
39:32
So they just keep over the years,
39:37
you know, evolving,
39:38
and I'm sort of where I'm at now in that evolution.
39:44
Sometimes it's hard for me to go back
39:46
and really talk about the early work,
39:48
because sometimes I look at 'em and I'm like, who made that?
39:53
(both chuckle)
39:54
Who was that guy way back then?
39:57
But, I call 'em bas relief, they're lower relief sculptures.
40:01
[Maya Doss] They kinda have a shadow box quality, right?
40:03
[Chet Geiselman] Yes, most have a shadow box around them.
40:08
The size of that box depends on, that's the last thing I do,
40:11
some people think I build the box first
40:13
and then I put these objects in, it's actually different.
40:16
I start out with what I call a substrate,
40:19
it's basically a piece of plywood
40:21
with some wood around the back.
40:23
And then I just start taking pieces of wood
40:27
and laying them on top, and sort of creating a design.
40:31
And then finally, I build the wooden box
40:33
around the outside, as sort of a frame,
40:36
you know, just like a painting would have a frame.
40:39
So these contain the box.
40:41
And there was a point
40:43
where I started working outside of that frame, you know,
40:50
just talking to a lot of people,
40:51
and they said, "Do you ever go outside of that frame?,"
40:55
and yeah, I started doing that.
40:57
So some of the more recent ones are doing that too.
41:01
[Maya] What do you think it is about the frame
41:03
that made you make so many of them
41:05
with this kind of box shape?
41:09
[Chet Geiselman] I think like painters who frame their work,
41:11
you know, it hasn't been that long ago in art history
41:16
that you just assumed all paintings had a frame.
41:20
But then with the abstract expressionists,
41:23
they felt that they didn't want their work to be contained
41:28
and stop at the edge, you know,
41:29
so they started not putting frames around their artwork,
41:34
so that the viewer would just assume
41:37
that the painting went on forever, if that makes sense.
41:38
[Maya Doss] That's actually interesting you say that,
41:40
'cause now that I'm thinking of when I've gone to museums,
41:42
older paintings always have some elaborate frame,
41:44
and newer paintings don't usually.
41:46
That's really interesting. [Chet Geiselman] Yeah.
41:47
And they're mostly made out of wood,
41:49
sometimes I throw some other elements,
41:51
found objects, steel or glass.
41:55
I've been using some glass eyes,
41:57
or more recently, some bison teeth (chuckles)
42:00
and deer teeth, things like that.
42:03
[Maya Doss] Yeah, I want us to talk more about those,
42:05
because you were at the Evansville Museum, right?
42:08
For their 48th Mid-States Crafts Exhibition.
42:12
They were so animated, can you tell us about those pieces?
42:14
Like, why they're looking back at us, so to speak?
42:17
(both chuckle)
42:18
[Chet Geiselman] Well, yeah, in the last few months,
42:22
I've been working with putting some eyes,
42:25
glass eyes in my sculptures.
42:28
And I was having some difficulty with my actual left eye.
42:36
I was seeing a little bit of,
42:37
like if I looked at a vertical line,
42:39
I could see a little bump out, and I thought
42:40
I'd maybe found a glitch in the matrix or something.
42:43
(both chuckle)
42:44
But it turns out it's macular degeneration.
42:48
And so I had a lot of tests done,
42:49
and they're like, "Well, okay, you should be okay,
42:52
just take this vitamin," and so I started that.
42:55
But you know, it's a real scary thing,
42:56
being a visual artist and thinking, "Oh wow,
42:59
I could potentially go blind and," you know.
43:01
[Maya Doss] Right, yeah.
43:03
[Chet Geiselman] So, that started creeping into my work,
43:06
you know, the eyeballs.
43:08
[Maya Doss] Yeah, it makes me think of Andy Warhol,
43:09
like after he faced death, right,
43:11
he started making all these colorful skulls,
43:13
you're like, well, I guess I'm gonna start adding eyeballs.
43:16
(both chuckle)
43:16
[Chet Geiselman] Yeah.
43:17
[Maya Doss] No, that's so fun.
43:18
What do you like about working with wood
43:20
that you can't get out of other mediums?
43:21
What makes you feel so comfortable with it?
43:24
[Chet Geiselman] It's a medium that I'm around every day,
43:28
I work in the wood shop, and I just love wood.
43:31
You know, it comes in a variety of colors and shapes
43:34
and grain patterns and, you know, it was once alive,
43:38
and it still very much is when you work with it,
43:41
there's a lot you have to think about,
43:43
you know, is this gonna move?
43:44
'Cause depending on the relative humidity,
43:47
you know, I've had pieces crack, you know, years later.
43:52
A few years back,
43:54
I had work in the faculty show, and I walked in,
43:56
and there was a crack in it, and I thought, what? (chuckles)
43:59
[Maya Doss] That's crazy.
44:00
[Chet Geiselman] But then I looked at it and I thought,
44:02
oh, it was my fault,
44:04
I didn't think about grain direction when I was making this,
44:07
and it moved, you know?
44:09
[Maya Doss] Wow, so it's always teaching you things.
44:11
[Chet Geiselman] It's always teaching me something.
44:13
And wood is also very forgiving,
44:17
and I can, you know,
44:19
if I sometimes I have to remake a piece, and it's easy,
44:25
easier than cutting something out of steel
44:28
or making it again out of clay, firing it and all that.
44:33
I feel it has a more directness
44:36
than a lot of other materials do.
44:38
[Maya Doss] No, that's very interesting,
44:40
'cause I've only gotten to work with wood,
44:41
you know, a few short times when I took 3D classes,
44:44
and I really enjoyed it.
44:45
So whenever people always go back to it, I'm always like,
44:47
I wonder why they really resonate with that.
44:49
But I'm curious, 'cause when we look at your sculpture,
44:51
sometimes it's very smooth,
44:54
sometimes there's multiple little itty bitty pieces,
44:56
kind of fit together like a puzzle,
44:58
other times there's spikes.
44:59
What makes you choose what goes into one of your sculptures?
45:04
[Chet Geiselman] I wish I had an answer for that, I don't.
45:09
It's always a matter of me,
45:13
and I don't do any sketches or drawings-
45:15
[Maya Doss] Oh, really? Ahead of time.
45:16
[Chet Geiselman] No, I've tried that before,
45:18
and it's because I really work with the materials
45:22
that are on hand,
45:24
I've just got a ton, I've got a lot of pieces of wood.
45:28
And so, you know,
45:29
I kinda look at everything that I have,
45:31
and I say, "Oh, this would be interesting here,"
45:33
and I think, "What if I put this next to that?"
45:37
"Okay, that seems to be working,
45:39
but it needs a little something extra,"
45:42
"Yeah, what about these spiky things?"
45:44
Or, I've been working a lot more with color-
45:48
[Maya Doss] Yeah, I love your use of color.
45:49
[Chet Geiselman] Thank you.
45:50
So that can dictate too, you know,
45:53
how color bumps up against other color.
45:56
[Maya Doss] That's fair, that makes sense.
45:58
Chet, this has been so interesting
46:00
to hear about your artistic process.
46:03
Where can our listeners go
46:04
if they want to see more of your work?
46:06
[Chet Geiselman] My house.
46:07
(both chuckle)
46:09
No, actually-
46:10
[Maya Doss] Get your pens and paper out,
46:11
you gotta write his address down.
46:13
[Chet Geiselman] Yeah.
46:15
Let's see,
46:16
in March, I'm going to be in a show at StorageSpace Indy
46:21
with another woodworker, Connor Noel.
46:24
[Maya Doss] What about online?
46:25
Do you have an online platform where people could go?
46:27
[Chet Geiselman] I don't, all I have is my Facebook,
46:30
and, what's that other one?
46:33
[Maya] Instagram. (chuckles)
46:34
[Chet Geiselman] Instagram account. (chuckles)
46:36
But I don't have a separate thing for my artwork,
46:38
that's something I'm gonna try and do soon,
46:40
is get somebody to help me do a website for my artwork.
46:44
[Maya Doss] Right on.
46:45
[Chet Geiselman] And I have a couple pieces, like you said,
46:48
in that show at the Evansville Museum right now.
46:50
[Maya Doss] That's so awesome, Chet.
46:52
Well, I really appreciate you for coming on the show
46:54
and sharing with us what you've been working on.
46:56
[Chet Geiselman] Thank you for having me.
46:57
(lively funk music)
47:19
[Jen Blackmer] It may be cold outside, but it's hot in here,
47:22
time for the arts calendar.
47:24
You ready? [Michelle Kinsey] Yes.
47:25
Yes, I'm ready. Go.
47:26
[Jen] All right.
47:26
Cornfed Roller Derby is hosting
47:29
the second annual Cornflict Scrim-a-Thon.
47:32
Oh, that is so much fun to say.
47:33
[Michelle Kinsey] I love it.
47:34
[Jen] Cornflict Scrim-a-Thon, an all-day,
47:36
open-gender scrimmage-a-thon, on Saturday, January 24th
47:40
at the Delaware County Fairgrounds,
47:42
and you can watch all the action from 10:00 AM to 6:00 PM.
47:46
[Michelle Kinsey] That sounds like so much fun.
47:47
[Jen] It does.
47:48
[Michelle] Speaking of fun,
47:49
Paramount Theater in Anderson will host its second annual
47:52
Paramount Lip Sync Battle on Saturday, January 24th.
47:56
The lip synchory, featuring Madison County celebrities,
47:59
will begin at 7:00 PM.
48:02
[Jen] Let's jump back in the time machine
48:03
for a few concerts this weekend, shall we?
48:05
[Michelle] Yes, we shall.
48:07
♪ I wanna put on my, my, my, my, my boogie shoes ♪
48:12
♪ And shake it with you ♪
48:13
- And shake your booty too.
48:14
[Michelle] Well, yeah. [Jen] Let's see,
48:14
KC and the Sunshine Band will perform Friday,
48:17
January 23rd at the Old National Center in Indianapolis.
48:21
And Sawyer Brown will perform Saturday,
48:23
January 24th at the Gas City Performing Arts Center.
48:27
The '80s and '90s country pop and rock band will perform
48:31
all their top country tunes.
48:34
[Michelle] Think you're funny? (laughs)
48:35
[Jen] I know you're funny. (Michelle laughs)
48:38
[Michelle] Guardian Brewing Company in Muncie is having
48:41
an Open Mic Comedy Night on Monday, January 26th.
48:45
All funny people are invited to perform a five-minute set.
48:48
Signups begin at 7:30 PM, and the laughs begin at 8:00.
48:52
[Jen] Hopefully the laughs begin at 8:00.
48:55
[Michelle] I wasn't gonna say that,
48:55
I'm gonna assume it's gonna be a chuckle fest.
48:58
[Jen] All right, looking ahead.
49:00
The Meltdown Ice Festival is January 30th and 31st
49:03
in Richmond.
49:05
Professional ice carvers
49:07
and artists transform over 20,000 pounds of ice
49:11
into amazing sculptures throughout Richmond's City Center.
49:15
Ice cream eating contest, a meltdown throwdown competition
49:19
and fireworks are also on the schedule.
49:22
Richmond Meltdown has the chilly details.
49:25
[Michelle] That's so cool.
49:26
[Jen] I know, and an ice cream eating contest?
49:28
[Michelle] Oh, right? [Jen] I would do so well.
49:30
[Michelle] And I think the weather's gonna cooperate.
49:32
[Jen] Yeah.
49:33
[Michelle] Because it has been very chilly.
49:34
[Jen] It has. (upbeat music)
49:35
[Michelle] If you have an event pop listeners should know
49:38
about, tell us at indianapublicradio.org/contact,
49:41
then click Pop of Culture.
49:48
[Luke Jones] Support for Pop of Culture comes
49:50
from Stallings Wealth Management,
49:54
the Innovation Connector,
49:56
and from you.
49:59
With state and federal money eliminated,
50:01
you are the difference
50:03
in keeping local programming on the air at IPR.
50:07
Become a member today at indianapublicradio.org.
50:11
[Michelle] And that's our show.
50:13
Our art director is Tracie Louck.
50:15
[Jen] This week was produced by Luke Jones,
50:18
who looks like he hit a growth spurt
50:19
in the last 24 hours.
50:21
Congrats.
50:22
[Jen] That's wonderful. Good for him.
50:24
[Michelle] Way to go, Luke.
50:25
We had production assistance from Andrew Montavon.
50:28
[Jen] Our audio fellow is Maya Doss.
50:31
And our show was hosted by me, Jen Blackmer.
50:34
[Michelle] And me, Michelle Kinsey.
50:35
Pop of Culture is a production from IPR
50:38
on the campus of Ball State University.
50:42
(camera beeping)
50:43
Calendar.
50:43
♪ And now we go to the calendar, arts calendar ♪
50:48
(Michelle chuckles)
50:49
- You didn't know? That's our new theme song.
50:51
♪ It is time for the arts calendar ♪
50:54
♪ Arts calendar ♪
50:56
♪ Calendar. ♪
50:58
(Michelle and Jen laugh)
50:59
[Jen] Sorry.
51:00
[Michelle] I mean, I was gonna get into the harmony.
51:02
[Jen] I know, you were doing great.